Women's Issues, Peace, Creativity & Spirituality

Giraffes are being killed for their tails

I am sad to have to share this news. Giraffes are now being poached for their tails. When I read the title I thought I had read it wrong, but I had not. So I have always loved giraffes because they are so crazy looking and as a little girl I thought God had a sense of humor. He/she probably does but I am sure there is no laughter now. We need to know about this and the animal rangers who are trying to protect them along with all the other animals who are being poached for body parts with “mystical powers” or by rich people who will pay enormous amounts of money to be able to show off ivory tusks and brag how they brought the bull elephant down or whatever animal they shot.

The animals probably deserve to be here more than we do because they aren’t destroying Mother Earth. But some more people are beginning to listen and to care. They are donating money to the organizations who are fighting poaching on the ground. It must be a terribly hard job and I send them my gratitude and thanks for performing it day after day.

Namaste,

Barbara

The killing of three rare Kordofan giraffes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo inspired a filmmaker to transform his anger into action.

By Jani Actman

PUBLISHED AUGUST 10, 2016

Documentary filmmaker David Hamlin recalls the adrenalin rush when he was flying over the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Garamba National Park in late June and spotted three giraffes standing in a small clearing. “Seeing these giraffes from the air was really exciting,” says Hamlin, who was on assignment for National Geographic. “Seeing them anywhere is really exciting.”

That’s because Garamba is huge, sprawling over nearly 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) of mostly forested land, and it’s a rare, lucky event to come across any of its 40 remaining giraffes.

But Hamlin’s exhilaration at seeing and photographing the giraffes didn’t last long. Twelve hours later rangers reported hearing gunshots, and they later discovered three bullet-riddled giraffe carcasses rotting in the sun. “It was horrible for me and the team,” Hamlin says—”the crushing realization that most likely it was these guys, the ones we’d seen.”

Hamlin decided to document the aftermath of the tragedy (watch the video above) to raise awareness about poaching in the park, which is managed by the nonprofit organization African Parks in association with the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, a government agency.

Garamba is Africa’s second oldest national park and has been hit hard by poaching in recent years as civil unrest has escalated in the region. Its rhinos have been wiped out, and elephants have suffered huge losses. The same goes for its Kordofan giraffes, one of Africa’s nine giraffe subspecies.

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A group of rare giraffes roam the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Garamba National Park.PHOTOGRAPH BY NIGEL PAVITT, JOHN WARBURTON-LEE PHOTOGRAPHY, ALAMY

Fewer than 2,000 now roam central Africa, according to Julian Fennessy, co-director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, a Namibia-based organization. Garamba’s Kordofans represent the last population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “If the number slips in half, then we’re in a real dire situation,” Fennessy says. “Every single giraffe is valuable.”

Congolese usually kill the giraffes for one body part: their tails, considered a status symbol in some communities. Meanwhile men from neighboring South Sudan target the giraffes for their meat to feed impoverished villagers. But the massive bodies (giraffes can grow to 18 feet and weigh up to 3,000 pounds) of the three giraffes were intact—only the ends of their tails were missing.

According to Leon Lamprecht, joint operations director for African Parks, men “use the tail as a dowry to the bride’s father if they want to ask for the hand of a bride.” The long black hairs are often turned into fly whisks.

One of the dead giraffes had a satellite collar and was being monitored by Garamba’s rangers. “What an absolute waste,” Lamprecht says.

This story was produced by National Geographic’s Special Investigations Unit, which focuses on wildlife crime and is made possible by grants from the BAND Foundation and the Woodtiger Fund. Read more stories from the SIU on Wildlife Watch. Send tips, feedback, and story ideas tongwildlife@ngs.org.

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I am a retired widow with 4 kids and 9 grands. I worked as a nurse, and in Domestic Violence, and many non-profits, I was a donor health counselor for the American Red Cross and am a certified HIV counselor. I worked as a counselor and I have been a make-up artist and selling specialists for several American designers. I love life. I am very spiritual. I grew up in 50's and 60's and truly am the idealistic rebel which is the name of my blog. I love music, books, reading, Kindle, beauty. I am a photographer and an artist. I believe in making the world better one day at a time. I am now living in Asheville, NC.